politics

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Flip-Flopping Pols Are Just Channeling Inner Hypocrite

They know it's wrong, but benefits too great

(Newser) - Think all politicians are self-justifying hypocrites? You're probably right, John Tierney writes in the New York Times. As a recent psychological study demonstrates, all of us, given enough time and mental wiggle room, will succumb to the "self-halo effect," justifying in ourselves and our allies moral lapses we...

Congress Short on Gas, Long on Gasbags
Congress Short on Gas, Long
on Gasbags
Opinion
Jun 26, 2008 9:39 AM CDT

Congress Short on Gas, Long on Gasbags

Capitol Hill can't do much but talk—but man, is it talking

(Newser) - There’s nothing much Congress can do about gas prices, writes Dana Milbank in the Washington Post, so in an effort to look busy it's doing what it always does—blaming the other party. Yesterday Capital Hill saw no less than 12 events on energy costs, and every last one...

Ailing Fidel Appears on TV
Ailing Fidel Appears on TV
Jun 18, 2008 5:58 AM CDT

Ailing Fidel Appears on TV

Former Cuban president chats with Hugo Chavez about food, fuel crises

(Newser) - An animated Fidel Castro appeared on state-run Cuban TV yesterday, in the first such broadcast of the ailing revolutionary since January. Castro, standing in some parts of the video, was seen chatting in a garden with his brother Raul, the current Cuban president, and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the AP...

Democrats Balk at Obama's Donation Ban

Lower-level candidates need the cash; policy offends lobbyists

(Newser) - Barack Obama won't accept contributions from lobbyists and PACs, but the rest of his party is unlikely to follow suit, reports Politico. Democratic lobbyists and fundraisers are outraged that the donations they secure are automatically considered suspect, while Senate and House candidates simply need the cash to compete. "You...

Lincoln's Failings Offer Modern Lesson
Lincoln's Failings Offer Modern Lesson
Opinion
Jun 6, 2008 7:58 AM CDT

Lincoln's Failings Offer Modern Lesson

Politicians must learn to face their flaws, not exult in strengths

(Newser) - Abraham Lincoln had his dark days. For a while, Lincoln was mercury-pill-popping, sleep-deprived wreck who briefly considered suicide. “Lincoln went Crazy,” wrote friend Joshua Speed. “It was horrible.” Lincoln, of course, grew out of it, facing his flaws in a way today’s leaders ought to...

NASA Was Muzzled on Climate Change
NASA Was Muzzled on Climate Change
Jun 3, 2008 8:19 AM CDT

NASA Was Muzzled on Climate Change

Bush appointees in press office withheld information, probe finds

(Newser) - Political appointees at NASA withheld scientific results on global warming, NASA's inspector general has determined after an internal probe. Investigators found that the public affairs office, run by Bush appointees, suffered from political spinning that was "inconsistent" with the agency's responsibility to pass full information on to the public,...

Senate Homecoming Won't Be Glorious

Power will not fall in losing candidate's lap

(Newser) - If Hillary Clinton does indeed lose the Democratic nomination, her Senate homecoming won’t be a glorious one, the New York Times reports. Clinton is still a junior senator, ranking 36th out of 49 Democrats, and would need to leapfrog a lot of people to become a committee chair—much...

Politics Battles Tech for Soul of Digg

Election pulls big traffic —and big discontent among nerderati

(Newser) - With election season in full swing, the political junkies have come for Digg.com, making Hillary, Barack, et. al. fixtures on the social news site. That’s been great for traffic, but it’s also angered the tech nerd early adopters who made Digg a success, CNET reports. At a...

SNL Launches Political Satire Site
SNL Launches Political
Satire Site
May 9, 2008 8:09 PM CDT

SNL Launches Political Satire Site

Site serves as storehouse of show's long-running satire

(Newser) - Saturday Night Live has unveiled a new website to showcase the program’s political humor, Broadcasting and Cable reports. Visitors can check out clips of the show’s political sketches and candidate appearances at http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/politics, or vote for their favorite president/candidate impersonator—dating back from Dana Carvey's...

Alec Baldwin Weighs Political Career

Actor hits the big 5-0, tells 60 Minutes he's learned tact

(Newser) - Outspoken actor Alec Baldwin is reconsidering his decision never to run for political office now that he's hit the half-century mark. The scrutiny he came under during his nasty divorce from Kim Basinger and the custody battle over their daughter has helped him learn the tact needed to survive in...

Ex-Bishop Wins Paraguay's Presidency in Historic Vote

Ends 61 years of single-party rule

(Newser) - Opposition leader Fernando Lugo won Paraguay’s presidential election yesterday, ending 61 years of one-party rule, Reuters reports. With nearly all votes counted, the former bishop beat Paraguay’s first female presidential contender by 41% of the vote to 10%. “We've made history,” the center-leftist Lugo told a...

Lieberman Campaign, Not Opponents, Crashed Site

Site was 'overutilized and misconfigured'

(Newser) - The FBI found accusations by Joe Lieberman’s campaign that challenger Ned Lamont’s supporters crashed the Connecticut Senator’s Web site on primary eve in 2006 to be unfounded, reports the Stamford Advocate after obtaining federal documents. Instead, it was probably Lieberman’s camp itself that brought down a...

Obama Preacher's Words Keep Resurfacing

Inflammatory comments from past may haunt candidate

(Newser) - In the latest campaign preacher flap, TV networks are airing clips from sermons in which the former pastor of Barack Obama's church condemns "racist" US society and compares the candidate's experiences to Jesus' struggles, the Guardian reports. "God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human,...

Pa. Governor a Risky Ally for Clinton

Blunt, gaffe-prone Rendell could make or break campaign

(Newser) - Ed Rendell could be Hillary Clinton’s greatest asset in Pennsylvania—or he could explode in her face, Politico reports. Pennsylvania’s governor is popular and authentic, and he knows how to raise money and find the state’s voters. But Rendell shoots from the hip, and often hits his...

Clinton Revives Campaign With Wins in Texas, Ohio

She also won in Ohio to snap Obama's winning streak

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton brought her campaign back from the brink tonight with primary wins in Texas, Ohio, and Rhode Island, NBC reports. "For everyone who's ever been counted out but refused to be knocked out, this one's for you," she told jubilant supporters in Columbus. Obama won Vermont in...

McCain Clinches; Huckabee Out
McCain Clinches; Huckabee Out
UPDATED
Mar 4, 2008 9:02 PM CST

McCain Clinches; Huckabee Out

Front-runner racks up four easy wins to secure the GOP nomination

(Newser) - John McCain officially clinched the Republican nomination for president tonight, the Washington Post reports. Mike Huckabee conceded after McCain racked up easy wins in Texas, Ohio, Vermont, and Rhode Island to surpass the necessary number of delegates—1,191. He is expected to go to the White House tomorrow to...

Political Cartoons No Longer Front and Center

Power of the pen left behind in 20th century

(Newser) - Political cartoons remain, but they lost front page power and heft long ago, says U.S. News & World Report. Cartoonists like Thomas Nast could once sway elections—Ulysses S. Grant credited Nast's pencil to helping him win the presidency—but the ranks of full-time pen-and-paper satirists have thinned to...

Poisoned Arrows Riddle Kenya
Poisoned Arrows Riddle Kenya
Mar 1, 2008 7:58 PM CST

Poisoned Arrows Riddle Kenya

Peace has come, but edgy populace stocks deadly new weapon

(Newser) - Kenya has struck a peace agreement, but its people are still stockpiling a new weapon of choice: poisoned arrows. A primitive arms industry is supplying ethnic warriors with the projectiles to replace their time-tested machetes, Time reports. “This is obviously something very wrong and very new,” said one...

Dems Square Off in Texas
Dems Square Off in Texas
UPDATED
Feb 21, 2008 9:06 PM CST

Dems Square Off in Texas

Clinton tries to stem Obama's momentum in sometimes contentious debate

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton tonight declared that "actions speak louder than words" as she sought to stem Barack Obama's political momentum in a Texas debate. She razzed him for using another politician's words in recent speeches—calling it "change you can Xerox"—and called his health plan inadequate. Obama...

Deal on Stimulus Package Puts Heat on Senate

Bush, Congress bask in the brief glow of cooperation, but can it last?

(Newser) - The $150 billion package of tax breaks for consumers and businesses rolled out yesterday was the first show of bipartisan cooperation sans bloodletting since the  Democrats won control of Congress a year ago, the Washington Post observes. It took panic over a looming recession to make it happen, and it...

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